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Conference FAQs

Conference FAQs

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Registration Registration for the Conference, beginning Monday, will be in the Horizon Room, in the hotel lobby area between 7:30a-8:40a. The Keynote begins at 8:45am, so please arrive in plenty of time to register and find a seat.

Registration for the Preconference, beginning Saturday, will be in the Horizon Room, in the hotel lobby between 7:30a-9a. Sessions on Saturday begin at 9am. If you are attending all 6 days, you will receive all the information you need on Saturday morning. Thus, you do not need to register twice.

Please see downloadable schedules at the bottom of this page.

2. Information Packet At registration you will receive a packet of all relevant information, a tote bag, and a complete set of our Thinker’s Guides. You will find an area map, information about local restaurants, information about the conference and room assignments, and general information about the Foundation for Critical Thinking. Please take a moment to review the packet when you receive it, as it will contain a lot of valuable information.

3. Account Login Please log in to your account at your earliest convenience, check that your sessions are selected, and that they are the ones you want. It is important to preselect sessions so that we will have an accurate count of participants for room assignments. Please attend only the sessions you have registered for.

4. Payment All registration fees should be received by us prior to the conference. We thank you for paying for the conference before you arrive. Anyone attempting to pay at the door will need special permission to do this from us in advance. If you plan to pay using a PO, we must receive an authorized, signed PO at our office before the event.

5. Refreshments Coffee and tea will be provided every morning, soft drinks in the afternoon, water provided all day. If you would like anything in addition to this, including snacks, feel free to bring those as you wish. You may also purchase snack items in the lobby gift shop.

6. Publications and Materials for Sale We will have several of our materials and publications available for sale at the Bookstore Sales and Information area, on the main lobby level in the Alumni Room. Please visit the sales and information desk during breaks and lunch, and at the end of each day’s sessions.

7. Lunch Lunch will be on your own. The hotel restaurant will offer a lunch buffet for our guests (at a reasonable rate). You will have a 1.5 hr lunch break and may choose to walk a few blocks to ½ mile for alternative restaurant options. We will have the hotel menu and local restaurant information available when you arrive. Because of the limited time we will have for lunch break, we suggest that you eat lunch at the hotel when possible.

ANSWERS to FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What airport should I fly into? Both San Francisco International (SFO) and Oakland International Airports serve the Bay Area, and are close to the Claremont. You should allow 40 mins to 1 hour commute time to/ from the airports, depending on time of day and traffic.

3. What should I wear? People generally dress casually – everything from jeans and sweatshirts to "business casual". You will be in air conditioned rooms, sitting a lot, so you will want to be as comfortable as possible. Also bring shoes you can walk in, as there are restaurants and shops about 1/2 mile away. The weather could be cool (50s-60s) or could be warm (80s) so be sure to check the weather for Berkeley, CA online before you come.

4. Where else can I stay besides the Claremont? We encourage our conference attendees to stay at the Claremont if possible for ease and convenience. However, if you choose to look elsewhere, we suggest you use a Google search or sites like Hotels.com. You will need to be sure that you can get to the Claremont via taxi, car, or other transportation. Please be aware that some neighborhoods are better than others, and it might be worth doing a Yelp search for reviews and recommendations. (www.yelp.com)

5. Can I purchase the PowerPoint presentations? Yes you can. There will be two CDs available at the conference. Each is available for $20 and will be available at our Bookstore/ Sales Table.

6. Can I get a list of all conference participants? We design workshop sessions so that participants frequently work with others in pairs and small groups. This enables those interested in establishing personal contacts at the workshop to exchange contact information. In addition, there will be a message board available for our group. Feel free to put a message on the bulletin board that invites those sharing an interest in _______ (whatever category you please), to take down your email address and leave their own for you. The message board will be located near our information and sales area.

7. How do the concurrent sessions work? All concurrent sessions will be held on Wednesday morning and afternoon. Please read the Concurrent Session Program that you will receive in your packet to decide which sessions seem most relevant to your work and life.

8. How can I get academic credit for participation in the conference? Academic Credit for the international conference is available through Sonoma State University. Registration forms for academic credit will be available at the conference desk, along with a copy of the course requirements you can review. Once you have registered for credit, you may download course requirements from our website. Please ask at the Info Desk for the forms.

9. What is the closing session? This is a time for all registrants to come together on the last day, to process what you have learned at the conference, to think about next steps for moving forward. This session will be led by Richard Paul, Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich.

11. How can my institution overcome the financial burden of a professional development program in critical thinking? The Foundation for Critical Thinking is currently seeking partnerships with schools and school districts to provide professional development workshops at NO COST. To fund this endeavor, we are looking for financial sponsors through grants. Please contact us if your school or school district is interested so, together, we can locate and apply for various grants. The Foundation for Critical Thinking will write the grant, working with your institution. If interested, please email: caputo@criticalthinking.org or hale@criticalthinking.org

12. How can I establish an official affiliation with the Foundation for Critical Thinking? By giving us your email we will make sure you are informed of the new membership possibilities we are presently considering. You can do this at the conference desk, or email us at cct@criticalthinking.org .

The nearest BART station to the hotel is Rock Ridge Bart Station, which is approximately a 20 minute walk from the hotel. Taxis are at stand by the BART Station to the hotel; charge is about $10.00. The Claremont Concierge will assist with taxi service if needed from the hotel to the BART station.